


Drabble Dungeon

by KittenKin



Category: Doctor Who, Firefly, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Canon Compliant, Crossover, Drabble Collection, Family Feels, Multi, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-23
Updated: 2014-01-13
Packaged: 2017-12-15 22:31:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 2,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/854721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittenKin/pseuds/KittenKin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of drabbles (and double- or triple-drabbles) to be updated as I write new ones. Mostly Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles canon-compliant, with some crossovers into related universes such as Shigatsu Tsuitachi Corporation and Shiritsu Horitsuba Gakuen, and fandoms such as Doctor Who and Firefly/Serenity. Most prevalent pairing will be KuroFai.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. All Work and No Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kurogane uses his sword to help him keep in shape and also to threaten Fai with. Syaoran's reading gives him pleasure as well as serves a purpose. But Fai never used his magic for anything but serious need, and so it shocked me when in the last book he used his magic just so that he, Mokona and Kurogane could sneak up on Syaoran and Sakura and try to eavesdrop on their sweethearting. After the shock wore off I almost burst into tears because it seemed like such a poignant symbol of how far he's come from the first chapter. And then I wrote this, because I figured it was something Kurogane would twig to immediately, observant and Fai-focused as he is. X3

He thinks back to the worlds in which he's personally witnessed Fai use magic, and doesn't even need the fingers of his missing arm for the tally. Whistling it up in LeCourt. Broken and bruised by it in Infinity. Unleashing it and then nearly being killed by it in Celes. Smiling serenely in Nihon while trading it away. Wielding it again in that frozen fragment of time, grim and solemn and honoring the one who'd carried it awhile.

He stares as Fai spins sparking scrollwork just so they can go _peep on the kids_. The mage is grinning and sly and playful, and if it wasn't for Mokona sitting on the man's shoulder and the bustling market street nearby Kurogane is certain he would have grabbed the mage and hauled him in for a brief but scorching kiss. It would have been fierce in its joy, filled with gratitude because Fai has survived, and exulting because he's done so much more than just survive.

Fai notices the look and quirks his eyebrows. Kurogane just shakes his head, starts following Mokona who's begun leading the way, and smiles when the mage falls into step at his side.


	2. Daddy's Little Princess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fai might be the "mommy" of the group, but I feel like Kurogane, who grew up surrounded by moon priestesses and had to train and bunk with both male and female ninja, would be much more in tune with the earthier aspects of raising a daughter. Fai will buy Sakura pretty pretty clothes and teach her how to bake cookies. Kurogane will take her shopping for a bra and make damn sure she knows where babies come from because he's not ready to be Kuro-grandpa yet kthx.

Kurogane was intimately acquainted with blood. When coughed up, he could tell by the brightness whether it was from the stomach or lungs. If found pooling on the floor, he could calculate life expectancy down to the minute by the rate of expansion. And if it was in the air, he could tell whether it was from a woman's moon time by the scent.

He wasn't about to tell the princess this, however. He didn't know whether it was possible to literally die of embarrassment, but if anyone could do it, she was the one. If he declared that he could _smell her_ her head would probably pop off her shoulders in a great burst of steam and mortification. Though he remained silent, watchfulness made him aware of other cues - fatigue, peakedness and the like - and spurred him to action.

After a solitary grocery run he caught the princess alone and tossed her a paper bag containing pads, hotpacks and mild painkillers with a gruff "here". He had foreseen the blushing, stammering gratitude she delivered later and shrugged it off. What wasn't expected was the query of whether he could take her shopping for a more comfortable brassiere.


	3. Mommy

Fai clung to his title of "Mommy" but not because he wished the clones were actually his children. He loved them dearly and little though he knew what a real family ought to be like, he felt satisfied with what they already were to each other; fellow travelers and companions, relying upon each other and sharing faith and affection, food and shelter. It was enough, and he wasn't actually jealous over being their parent simply for the sake of being their parent. It was more that he wanted to hold on to being "Mommy" because of who their "Daddy" was.


	4. Preventative Medicine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crossover with Firefly/Serenity universe in which Kurogane is captain of a ship named Ginryuu and Fai is the Companion he's been hired to transport about and keep safe. There's a little pencil scribble to go along with this on my tumblr (account name is kitten-kin) where Fai is...well, being distracting. XD So now Captain Kurogane has to make the hard choices for the sake of survival and his life is hard, okay?
> 
> [Pic is here~](http://kitten-kin.tumblr.com/post/50186272532/headlong-crash-into-derelict-spaceship-in)

I teased the captain once on account of how he's so sweet on Fai. That man gets paid more attention in one week than any companion was ever paid coin in all their livelong life. Now don't get to imagining silly things like there's flowers and chocolates picked up at each port o' call. But at every opportunity there's something; a touch even when they're not in each other's way, a look even where there's not anything needing to be said. If nothin's doing the captain'll even seek Fai out, and so far's I can see, for only but a few useless sentences. And this from the man who's so stingy with words that his vocabulary's more'n half grunts and growls.

So yeah, I teased the captain on it.

Once.

My dear and darlin' Lord in heaven, may I never be looked at like that again. Captain set me straight as to his behaving so with "that bái mù", by which he means Fai. I got it explained to me in a few choice words that it wasn't nothin' more nor less than simple survival instinct. When some folk get to feeling neglected, they don't sulk or cry or get angry; they just reach out and grab the attention they're hankering for, all sensible like. But some folk also have powerful bad judgment as to when and how to do the grabbing, and it's this real dangerous combination in Fai that's the reason Ginryuu's paint ain't so pretty as when she first took flight under the captain's hand.

Nowadays Fai's kept happy with regular doses of attention which stop him causing more accidents through distracting the captain. Like how doc innocs us 'gainst sicknesses I guess. Anyway, Fai's happy, ship's happy, captain's...well, captain's not yelling. One big happy family.


	5. An Old Coat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crossover with Firefly/Serenity universe in which Kurogane is captain of a ship named Ginryuu and Fai is the Companion he's been hired to transport about and keep safe. There's a little pencil scribble to go along with this on my tumblr (account name is kitten-kin) where Fai's cuddling a coat.
> 
> [Pic is here~](http://kitten-kin.tumblr.com/post/50103391143/he-has-a-brown-coat-at-the-bottom-of-his-foot)

He's got a brown coat buried in his footlocker. Found it one day when the bái mù was laid up in the infirmary with a bullet in his thigh. Wasn't looking to pry, only he'd mentioned a time back that he had a toothful of whiskey laid by and doc's out of antiseptic. And painkillers. Hell we're outta 'most ev'rything 'cept trouble.

Found the whiskey eventually but came across the coat first; worn, fraying and calico-patched with dirt and blood.

Saw it another time, damp like someone'd been weepin' on it. Time was I wouldn'ta cared.

That time's long past.


	6. Handicapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on a splashpage where CLAMP posits that the gang lands in a world where magical power translates to technological ability, and so Fai and Syaoran are able to enter the workforce, but Kurogane is completely useless. I was cracking up because even CLAMP loves to troll Kurogane outside of the main storyline!

It took fifteen hours to get the ninja released back into their custody, and their success had nothing to do with Kurogane's outraged insistence that he was a functional adult capable of taking care of himself and everything to do with the others proving that they had the talent - and therefore the means of generating income - necessary to provide for a dependent with no magical ability.

They left in a hurry, Fai dragging Kurogane through the front doors of the Social Services building with one hand clamped firmly over the ninja's mouth, and Syaoran right behind them with his arms full of brochures detailing the equipment manufactured to allow unmagical beings to live independently instead of in assisted living compounds. Mokona trailed along, cheerfully calling out traffic light change requests in order to keep up the lie that she was the handicapped man's guide sprite.

Thanks to some quick loans it only took a week to get their apartment fitted out with enough upgrades to allow Kurogane to open doors and windows, cook food and use the facilities without snarling irritably at Syaoran - up/down-graded from student to helpmeet - to come and handwave something.

Longest week of Syaoran's life.


	7. Not Impossible...Just Unlikely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No seriously, why isn't there a massive TRC/DW crossover fanbase? You've got two series in which a tall drink of water travels through time and space in a mysterious vehicle that's apparently female and much bigger on the inside than the outside, can do blue-glowy magical thingies with a quick flick of his fingers, loves his companion(s) and relies on them to keep him "human" while both saving and being saved by them, has lost his homeworld and everyone he loved, is a great fighter but an even better talker, keeps cheating death (one time not even really cheating it), loses a body part and then regrows it later, and turns out to be way older than he looks.
> 
> I need Fai and the Doctor to meet at least once. I'd love it if it was the tenth Doctor. He could propose a trade of companions; Jack for Sakura. Jack would take one look at Kurogane and be all on board. You know he would. Who wouldn't?
> 
> Either that or Fai is one of the incarnations of the Doctor. That's what the "D" stands for. Fai was so powerful that they had to invent a new rank in Celes for his level of power. The "Doctor" rank.

By the time the two long, lanky, completely insane men finished comparing oddly similar personal histories and traits, Kurogane had a headache to rival the stomachache Mokona had from inadvertently swallowing and then burping up the big blue box. Size was not an issue when it came to the bun's storage capacity, but the stranger she'd hijacked made a nonsensical-sounding declaration to the effect that big balls of timey wimey stuff were not meant to be contained within itty buns of dimensiony shmensiony junk.

Fai had laughed. Everyone else had wrinkled their foreheads and second-guessed the Doctor's intelligence.


	8. A Psuedo-Sibling Scolding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I love imagining different scenarios for the TRC gang landing in the SHG universe, and Fai being able to meet his other self and a living, happy, adult version of his brother. I like to think that the teachers, if Fai confided his story to them, would chide him for his too self-sacrificing notions and then hug the stuffing out of him while Kurogane nodded approvingly in the background.

"How can you have had such a poor opinion of your own brother?!" the schoolteacher demanded, and the mage blinked at this doppelganger of his brother. "How can you have thought, even for one moment, that he would have been happy to wake up, only to find out that the body he was in was yours? To find out that he was only alive because you'd sacrificed your own life?"

Fai stared helplessly, speechless as he always was in the face of simple truths. He'd feared recrimination and hoped for redemption. He hadn't expected to be scolded for a fool.


	9. Mistletoe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fai is patting himself on the back in a chipper manner for having scored some sneaky points and free kisses, but what's keeping him really, truly, bone-deep, storm-weatheringly happy is how seriously Kurogane loves him.

Mistletoe isn't indigenous to Celes, but that doesn't stop Fai from taking advantage of its presence whenever it crosses their path. He forces Kurogane's compliance to the tradition of kissing under mistletoe as well by solemnly declaring that it is bad luck not to do so. The ninja scoffs at any claim that he is superstitious but belief in luck is bred into his bones, and he's also sensitive to Fai's deep-running scars when it comes to the notion that ill luck clings to him yet. Kurogane even stops Fai for kisses if the mage passes near mistletoe without noticing.

The above picture is one of a series of 25 that I drew as a sort of "KuroFai Advent Calendar". To see all 25 pictures, please visit the thread here: <http://clampkink.dreamwidth.org/584.html?thread=1758024>. 18 or older only please; one or two of the pictures are slightly NSFW.


	10. Grounded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spun off of a headcanon of mine where after their quest is finally over and everyone is able to reunite permanently with their beloved, Fai keeps the remaining earring containing memories of the worlds they've traveled to. Soeil has no more need of it and Larg doesn't want it back either, so Fai uses it to help guide and focus his magic whenever he and Kuro-sama want to visit their old friends or go to Piffle for a maintenance check on Kurogane's arm.

Their kudan visited them as expected, but this time did not wait for darkness and dreams to overtake them. A gentle wind swirled around Fai even though they'd landed in a closed room, fluttering his hair caressingly. His kudan did not manifest itself, but when he closed his eyes he could see the great bird hovering before him, looking him over with keen eyes.

"You are grown, and grounded. It may be that I cannot help you fly and flee any longer," the guardian said, sounding not at all regretful.

"I don't need you to anymore," Fai replied, smiling.


	11. Ferris Wheel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part of the "Fai keeps the blue earring" headcanon set.

Fai did his best to convince Kurogane that the Dream Eggs were worth another try, pointing out that they'd hardly been in a position to appreciate all of the possibilities and potential of the virtual world the last time they'd visited Fairy Park. Kurogane interrupted the long list of things to do, look at, eat, drink and/or obliterate with a terse grump that they were all fake and therefore meaningless.

It had been long enough since their first visit to Edonis that Fai didn't look for any hidden rebuke in those words. Fortuitous, since Kurogane hadn't put any there to be found. The ninja ignored the renewed attempts to interest him in demon-hunting and dragged his mock-pouty mate off to the ferris wheel instead.

"We just sit here and watch the scenery go by?" Fai asked as he looked around the cramped compartment, which was little more than metal bars and cheap upholstery. "We could have done that in Outo too, Big Doggy. How is this any less pointless or any more fun?"

"Because everything in here's real," the ninja replied, making the cage rock as he leaned in to punctuate his rebuttal with a kiss.


	12. The Book of Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part of the "Fai keeps the blue earring" headcanon set.

The tears that fell down Fai's face at intervals were gently wiped away, but Kurogane took care never to touch the softly glowing book of memories that he'd placed in the mage's hands some time ago. Eventually Fai came out of his spellbound state with a soft, shivery sigh and spent a moment cradling the heavy tome to his chest. Once collected, he dropped a quick kiss to Kurogane's cheek and then very deliberately re-opened the book, keying it to his own memories next as he rifled through the once-again blank pages. The ninja frowned slightly as the book was offered to him.

"You know I don't care about all that," he said, more honestly puzzled than argumentative.

"But I want you see," Fai said with a smile. "I want you to see the same thing in me that I did in you, when you let me read your story." This only served to confuse the ninja further. Even though there were some similarities in their pasts, the details and circumstances and of course people were widely different. The smile on Fai's face widened, accented now by a faint flush.

"I want you to watch me fall in love."


	13. Undefined Unease

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part of the "Fai keeps the blue earring" headcanon set.Takes place in either the Shiritsu Horitsuba Gakuen or Shigatsu Tsuitachi Corporation spinoff by CLAMP.

The unease that ran under his skin as Fai clung to him, pale and shaking, was at first ignored. A simple task in the face of greater concerns like making sure the two identical twins across the street did not spot their doppelganger and offering mute support to said doppelganger. The faint thread of anxiety abruptly snapped at the sight of a tall, dark-haired and uncannily familiar man joining the twins on their excursion to be treated - subjected - to sweets and sweet kisses, and the realization of what he'd been uneasy over was almost enough to make Kurogane blush.


	14. Something Old, Something New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part of the "Fai keeps the blue earring" headcanon set.

The ninja frowned and fumbled around in his sleeves, making a disgusted noise when he eventually discovered that he'd neglected to bring the flint and striker with which to light the incense for his parents' gravesite.

"Wait here. I'll borrow something from the temple," he said, but Fai stopped him from stalking off with a hand laid lightly over the ninja's arm.

"Here, hold this," Fai instructed, laughter audible in his voice though it was kept soft out of respect for the place and their errand. He handed over the mossy green incense that he'd been carrying in a folded paper.

That done, slender fingers snapped lightly near the end of the stick of pressed powder and a blue spark immediately flared to life on the wizard's fingertip. A quick flick sent the magefire jumping to the incense instead, where it danced merrily a moment before extinguishing itself, making way for a lazy coil of fragrant smoke.

Fai felt quite self-satisfied and even received a grateful nod, but as they moved through the simple ceremony of placing the incense and praying for his husband's parents, he felt a faint worry take root.

"Was that all right?" he finally asked, once Kurogane seemed ready to take leave. Fai nodded his head toward the incense by way of explanation and added, "There's so much of tradition and ceremony in everything here. In hindsight I thought perhaps it wasn't entirely appropriate for me to have...you know." He wiggled his fingers at the ninja with a wry smile and got a quiet huff in return.

"It wasn't traditional, but it was appropriate," Kurogane replied with a grin. "When you married me you became their child too, magic and all. It's saved my life a few times; I'm sure they're grateful for it."


	15. Pacific Reservoir: At First Sight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part of my Pacific Rim/Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle crossover, for which I've drawn several sketches but not published any fic (yet *cough*). Artwork can be found [here](http://kitten-kin.tumblr.com/search/pacific+reservoir).

"Love at first sight," Shunya declared, but Yuui smiled and shook his head. "Well, how would you define it?" the older man asked, not at all offended. The blond pursed his lips thoughtfully and then replied in an almost clinical manner.

"Instant mutual attraction based _solely_ on physical appearance, developing into love with subsequent interaction."

"That's bullshit," Shunya said with a fond laugh, "and I can prove it."

"How?" Yuui asked, pleased but refusing to abandon his logic for love.

"Because I saw your brother first, and looked away. And then I saw you, and everything just...stopped."


End file.
